Exploring the Intersection of Efficiency and Librarianship

11% of Email

Email has an excitement around it because of its immediacy. It comes in fast and can be responded to quickly. Pop-up notifications, bells, and vibrating cell phones beckon one to view their incoming messages like a Pavlovian Dog, making it feel like every email must be answered as soon as it arrives. But if you stop to think about it, how much of your email do you really need to see as soon as it shows up?

Take this finding as an excuse to relax around email. If you haven’t done so already, turn off all notifications of new messages that only serve to break your concentration. The takeaway here is not to worry if you haven’t checked email in a while. The truth is most email can wait.